Fear the F.O.E.'s in Etrian Odyssey IV

I love Atlus. While the rest of the industry cozies up to Apple and fawns over banal, marshmallow-soft time-wasters like Angry Birds, Atlus gets ready to release Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan on the 3DS. Because Atlus is hard. And they just don't give a damn. You want a cute adventure? Oh sure, it's cute, but the merciless dungeon crawling will grind you under its boot. You want user-friendly maps and directions? Ha! Make your own with the included mapping tools. Do you want thrilling turn-based boss fights? Well here's a F.O.E. standing in your way. Good luck with that. Also, here's the game's first North American trailer for your viewing pleasure.

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ATLUS UNVEILS NEW TEASER TRAILER FOR ETRIAN ODYSSEY IV™: LEGENDS OF THE TITAN FOR NINTENDO 3DS™

Now that everyone is getting back into their routine after Thanksgiving, we wanted to share with you the very first North American teaser trailer for Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan:

For centuries, the tree Yggdrasil has been a constant presence in the lives of the people of Tharsis. It looms on the horizon, visible from everywhere in the city. But its roots are in a far-off land where no one has ventured until the Outland Count of Tharsis sponsors an Explorers Guild to reach Yggdrasil and discover its secrets. You are the latest explorer arriving in Tharsis to seek your fame and fortune. Board your skyship and set out into the clouds in search of treasure, glory, and the answer to Tharsis' oldest mystery.

Celebrate the tradition of classic pen and paper role-playing games by using the bottom touch screen to chart out your path, create maps, and identify the dangers you have encountered. A deep character creation and party customization system encourages experimentation and rewards creativity and imagination. Etrian Odyssey IV is packed with improvements and content including an enhanced graphics engine; upgradeable and customizable skyships that let players travel and battle amid the clouds; an exceedingly atmospheric and fully orchestrated musical score from Yuzo Koshiro; expanded, more immersive 3D dungeons with analog camera control; and guild card + character trading functionality via StreetPass.

Also in case you missed it last week, ATLUS announced a limited edition art book and music CD as bonus items to accompany any pre-order or retail purchase of Etrian Odyssey IV (while supplies last). More details on the bonus are available here: http://www.atlus.com/etrian4/purchase.html